JFK & the Speech That Changed America from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-13 12:00:00] How does a leader unite a divided country when political rancor is business as usual? We'll examine of the most powerful such moments in American history this hour with author Thurston Clarke. His book "Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America" (Penguin, Paperback, 2010) has just been re-released in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's inauguration. Listen to the podcast.

The Inside Story of Cloning Man's Best Friend from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-13 13:00:00] What would you pay to keep your favorite pet forever? We'll explore the possible future world of pet cloning this hour with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Woestendiek, author of the new book "Dog, Inc.: The Uncanny Inside Story of Cloning Man's Best Friend" (Avery, 2011). Listen to the podcast.

Self-Control in an Age of Excess from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-12 13:00:00] How are those New Years resolutions coming? We'll discuss why it's so hard for us to resist overeating, drinking, smoking and more this hour with journalist and author Daniel Akst, whose new book is "We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess" (The Penguin Press, 2011). Listen to the podcast.

A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-11 12:00:00] Just how powerful is fear as a motivator in our modern society? We'll examine the impact of the now completely repudiated late 1990s vaccine and autism scare this hour with Vanity Fair contributing editor Seth Mnookin, whose new book is "The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear" (Simon & Schuster, 2011). Listen to the podcast.

The Pope Who Brought Science to the Dark Ages from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-11 13:00:00] How were scientific study and the Church related at the turn of the first millennium? We'll spend this hour with science writer and medievalist Nancy Marie Brown, author of the new book "The Abacus and the Cross: The Story of the Pope Who Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages" (Basic Books, 2010). Listen to the podcast.

From the Archives: An Experience of the Holocaust from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-06 13:00:00] Almost seven decades later, tales of Nazi atrocities and personal experiences of the Holocaust are still coming to light. We'll hear one such story this hour, with Zsuzsanna Ozsvath, The Leah and Paul Lewis Chair in Holocaust Studies, Professor of Literature and the History of Ideas at UTD and author of "When the Danube Ran Red" (Syracuse University Press, 2010). Download the podcast here.

From the Archives: The Natural History of Innovation from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-05 13:00:00] From the archives: We all know the adage about necessity being the mother of invention, but are there ways to increase the occurrence of our collective eureka moments? We examined the phenomenon of innovation in October with Steve Johnson, author of "Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation" (Riverhead Books, 2010). Listen to the podcast.

From the Archives: The Triumph of Capitalism from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-04 13:00:00] How did the United States transform itself from a largely agrarian economy to a powerhouse on the world stage and how did it happen so fast? We'll spend this hour with H.W. Brands, the Dickson, Allen, Anderson Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas in Austin and author of the new book "American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900" (Doubleday, 2010). Download the podcast here.

The War of Images from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-03 12:00:00] How are verbal and visual images imbedded in politics and both literal and figurative war-fighting? We'll talk this hour with University of Chicago iconologist W.J.T. Mitchell, author of the new book "Cloning Terror: The War of Images, 9/11 to the Present" (Chicago, 2011). Download the podcast here.

The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin & John Wilkes Booth from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-16 12:00:00] How did family jealousy culminate in the assassination of one of America's greatest presidents? We'll find out this hour with historian Nora Titone, whose new book is "My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy" (Free Press, 2010).

Download that KERA Radio podcast here. The San Jose Mercury News had this to say about the author and book:

[If] it seems that the acting profession has never been filled with more vile representations of the human race, one particularly atrocious case has generally escaped popular memory. Because 145 years ago, an actor who was the Steven Segal of his day shot the president of the United States in the back of the head and killed him, for no greater reason, author Nora Titone posits in her recently released first book "My Thoughts Be Bloody," than that he was jealous of an older brother. Even before Abraham Lincoln's assassination at the hands of hack actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, writes Titone (who attended Castilleja School in Palo Alto from 1986 to 1990), actors were considered to be of the same class as prostitutes and thieves. Patrons flocked to theaters to forget the brutality of the ongoing Civil War for a short time, but when, for example, it was discovered that Lincoln's head had rested in actress Laura Keene's lap as a doctor removed bullet fragments, she was called a jezebel, was shunned for the rest of her acting career and, deeply in debt, died from a tubercular hemorrhage.

See that Mercury review here.

The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-21 12:00:00] Will Interstate 69, the actual "NAFTA Highway" ever be constructed? We'll examine the issue this hour with journalist Matt Dellinger, whose latest book is "Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway" (Scribner, 2010). Alan Melson will guest-host.

Download the podcast here. The author's alma mater mentioned that the book was nominated for an award, the other week. See that DePauw University mention here. See this Wall Street Journal review of the book.

The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin & John Wilkes Booth from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-16 12:00:00] How did family jealousy culminate in the assassination of one of America's greatest presidents? We'll find out this hour with historian Nora Titone, whose new book is "My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy" (Free Press, 2010).

Download the podcast here.

Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-15 13:00:00] How did a small desert town on the Persian Gulf become a shining beacon of global capitalism and how has the economic downturn tarnished its image? We'll talk this hour with the former Associated Press Persian Gulf correspondent, Jim Krane. His book "City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism" (Picador, 2010) is now out in paperback.

Download the podcast here.

Socks may keep mosquitoes at bay from PRI: Global Health and Development by interact@pri.org

[2010-12-14 13:00:00] Is the English language losing ground globally? Our guest this hour thinks so. We'll speak with Nicholas Ostler, chairman of the Foundation of Endangered Languages and author of the new book "The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel" (Walker & Company, 2010).

Download the podcast here.

The Rise and Fall of Information Empires from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-13 12:00:00] Who actually owns the internet and all the information that flows freely on the world-wide-web? We'll explore issues surrounding net neutrality this hour with Tim Wu, the Columbia Law Professor and policy advocate who coined the term. His new book is "The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires" (Knopf, 2010).

Download the podcast here. See also: Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World

The Aging of the World's Population from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-06 13:00:00] How is the increasing average age of the world's population affecting society and ultimately altering our lives? We'll spend this hour with journalist and writer Ted Fishman, whose new book is "Shock of Gray: The Aging of the World's Population and How it Pits Young Against Old, Child Against Parent, Worker Against Boss, Company Against Rival, and Nation Against Nation" (Scribner, 2010). Fishman will address the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth on Tuesday.

Download the podcast here. See also: China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World, Shock of Gray: The Aging of the World's Population and How it Pits Young Against Old, Child Against Parent, Worker Against Boss, Company Against Rival, and Nation Against Nation, China, Inc, China, Inc.

The Life of Bill Clinton from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-02 13:00:00] Though he's been out of office for almost a decade, people still wonder what makes Bill Clinton tick. We'll explore the life of the 42nd President this hour with writer and oral historian Michael Takiff whose new book is "A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him" (Yale, 2010).

Download the KERA radio podcast here.

From the Archives: Forty Tales from the Afterlives from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-11-24 13:00:00] From the archives - Is there any way to prove the existence of the soul? Last summer we talked with David Eagleman, Director of the Laboratory for Perception and Action at Baylor College of Medicine and author of the book "Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives" (Vintage, Paperback, 2010).

Download the podcast here. See also: Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives (Vintage), Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia, David Eagleman: Six Easy Steps to Avert the Collapse of Civilization, Sum: Tales from the Afterlives, Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

The Indian Ocean & the Future of American Power from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-11-22 12:00:00] How geopolitically important are the Indian Ocean and the countries that surround it? Our guest this hour, Center for a New American Security Senior Fellow Robert D. Kaplan, argues for a more complete understanding of the region and its power in the 21st Century and beyond in his new book "Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power" (Random House, 2010).

Download the podcast here. See also: Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power, Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus, The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War, Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts: The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground (Vintage Departures), Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History

JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-11-18 13:00:00] Everyone's seen the photos and films from Dallas in November 1963, but what was it like to be part of President Kennedy's Secret Service team on the day of his tragic assassination? We'll spend this hour with two of those agents, Gerald Blaine and Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin - the journalist who helps tell their story in the new book "The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence" (Gallery Books, 2010). Our guests will also speak at The Sixth Floor Museum this Saturday, November 20th.

Download the podcast here. See also: The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence, Portrait of Camelot: A Thousand Days in the Kennedy White House (with DVD), Head Shot: The Science Behind the JFK Assassination, LBJ: The Mastermind of JFK's Assassination, JFK: Day by Day: A Chronicle of the 1,036 Days of John F. Kennedy's Presidency